Chapter 38: White Wolf Mountain Water Interval (5)

  As Liu Jinhou said, this mountain road is indeed not easy to walk. On both sides of the precipice, a winding mountain road winds its way up, with a turbulent stream running through it, and two steep slopes to climb, until the sky brightens, Li Chengzhong finally sees the stone wall blocking the gap between the two mountains.

  This stone wall is not high, only about one zhang tall, and about 50 steps long. It is located right between the two mountains, blocking the only path into the mountain with a solid barrier. On one side of the stone wall, there are some broken wooden frames and railings, which vaguely resemble the remains of a gatehouse and a watchtower. Li Chengzhong looked at the steep cliffs on both sides, almost vertical and over 10 zhang high, with what seemed to be some remaining wooden houses on top. He nodded to himself, wondering who had built this military stronghold in the past. With just one squad of soldiers stationed here, they could completely block the path into the mountain, and no matter how many enemy troops came from outside, they would not be afraid at all. It is truly a strategic location where one man can hold off an army of thousands.

  With a lingering fear, Li Chengzhong stopped in his tracks and raised his hand to signal the troops to be on guard. The two soldiers immediately drew their weapons at the officer's shout, with knives and guns pointing outward and bows and arrows drawn.

  Li Chengzhong carefully observed the mountain tops on both sides, but didn't notice any movement. He then turned his head to stare at the stone wall in front of him, while listening intently with his ear tilted to the side. However, he neither saw a figure nor heard a sound. He called out Liu Jinhou from the group and asked: "Is this the military camp you were talking about?"

  Liu Jinhou nodded, with a hint of urgency in his eyes. Li Chengzhong said: "You take people to go inside and take a look, I feel like there's no one inside. Be careful, if something happens, report back immediately."

  Liu Jinhou responded with a "yes", turned around and shouted to the troops, his soldiers immediately came out of the formation and followed him through the damaged gate of the stockade. After a moment, Liu Jinhou's figure appeared at the stone wall, shouting loudly: "Commander, there is no one inside, everything is safe."

  Li Chengzhong beckoned with one hand, and the two soldiers lined up and passed through the stone wall into the stockade.

  This is a simple military camp, except for the stone wall, there are no decent houses to see, only large and small caves dug along the mountain wall. In addition to being simple, this fort also has a taste of decay, a kind of decay that has been soaked in years. Li Chengzhong found some wooden railing relics at a recessed mountain wall, from these moss-covered wooden bars, it can be seen that this was originally a stable, not large in scale, probably only able to raise a dozen horses. In another corner, several stone-built stoves were discovered.

  The cave dwellings on the mountain wall, the damaged stables, several stone furnaces, a watchtower and a small training ground that can accommodate hundreds of people in the middle, make up the entire appearance of this military fortress. Behind the fort is a lower stone wall, outside which a mountain path leads higher and higher to the back of the mountain.

  Feng Dao came to Li Chengzhong's side and said in a low voice, "Li Yuju, the charcoal in the stove has not been extinguished yet. There must be someone in the village, and they just left not long ago."

  Li Chengzhong nodded, and he also saw the charcoal, some of which were still glowing red. Jiang Miao came over to report on the search results of the caves on the mountain wall, many of which had been inhabited by people, and it seemed that the inhabitants had just left. Just as he was about to ask Liu Jinhou to come over and ask in detail, he saw Liu Jinhou shouting loudly towards the mountain path behind the village: "Zhuangzi! Is it you, is it you?" As he shouted, Liu Jinhou ran over, and from behind a tree beside the path, a dark-skinned man slowly emerged. The man was thin and gaunt, his mouth agape, staring at Liu Jinhou as he ran over, unable to speak for half a day.

  Li Chengzhong arrived just in time, and Liu Jinhou also dragged that man over.

  "Everyone! This is the younger brother of a certain family... Younger brother, this is the head of a certain family!" Liu Jinhou introduced each other here, but that man didn't understand, and asked in confusion: "Head?" Liu Jinhou scratched his head and explained: "It's just an official from a certain family!" That man understood this time, and hurriedly bowed and saluted: "Hello, sir!"

  Li Chengzhong had been in this era for more than half a year. This era did not have television, computers, movies and other forms of entertainment to pass the time, nor did it have the delicious food that people could enjoy in later generations. He felt very regretful about this and often complained about it. However, there was one thing that he was satisfied with, which was that there was no kneeling or bowing in etiquette. He had been deeply influenced by TV dramas from later generations and thought that in ancient times, subordinates would definitely have to kowtow when meeting their superiors, especially during the Qing dynasty when people would kowtow until their foreheads hit the ground and call themselves "slaves". He often felt disgusted by this and considered it shameful.

  In the late Tang Dynasty, although it was a chaotic world where human life was as cheap as grass and living was difficult, when inferiors met superiors they did not have to kneel down or kowtow, nor did they have to constantly refer to themselves as "small people" or "slaves". Here, even if it was just an old farmer who tilled the land, when he saw a governor such as a刺史 (a high-ranking official), he only needed to slightly bow his head, and the governor would nod in response. He could stand up straight and speak, referring to himself as "certain" or "I", and the governor would also refer to himself in the same way, rather than constantly saying "this great person" or "this official".

  Li Chengzhong smiled and pretended to be busy for a moment, then began to ask questions. The man was really too simple-minded, seemingly very respectful of officials, and couldn't say much in front of Li Chengzhong. Li Chengzhong had no choice but to temporarily retreat and let Liu Jinhou chat with the man, who only then spoke more fluently.

  Hanzi's name was Liu Jinzhu, he was the cousin of Liu Jinhou. He had been hiding in Bai Luoshan with his fellow villagers for nearly two months. This time, Li Chengzhong led a team into the mountain, and they were discovered by the people who guarded the mountain pass early on. So everyone retreated from the military camp overnight and hid inside the back mountain. Liu Jinzhu was arranged to sneak a peek at the mountain road leading to the back mountain because of his agile legs. As soon as this group of soldiers made any move, he could report it to the back mountain early. He saw Liu Jinhou in the army and forgot to hide himself in surprise, so he was discovered by Liu Jinhou.

  The number of refugees hiding in the White Wolf Mountain far exceeded Li Cheng's expectations, with Liu Jinzhu saying that there were as many as 700 or 800 people, including not only Liu Jinhou's fellow villagers but also commoners from other villages. The commoners normally lived in the caves of the military camp, making a living by digging wild vegetables and hunting in the mountains. However, due to the large number of refugees who had escaped here, the wild vegetables were almost all dug up this month, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to hunt beasts in the mountains, making life more and more difficult for everyone. According to Liu Jinhou, this man named Liu Jinzhu was originally quite robust, but he became so thin and weak due to hunger.

  Under the summons of Liu Jinhou and Liu Jinzhu, the people who had fled to the back mountain gradually returned to the military camp. Most of these people were old, weak, women and children, with only less than 200 able-bodied men like Liu Jinstor. Li Chengzhong was surprised to see that when these ordinary people came back, each household brought a wooden board, and it wasn't until they reinstalled the boards on their cave dwellings that he realized they had even taken the doors with them when they fled. Li Chengzhong ordered Zhao Da to take out the grain from the carts and start cooking porridge on the fire stove. The people saw this and all swarmed around the stove, stretching their necks to squeeze in, and were barely held back by the soldiers, their eyes fixed on the large iron pot on the stove, constantly swallowing saliva.

  The refugees who fled to this place were mainly from the three villages under Mount Bailong, with Liu, Guo and Cheng as their main surnames. As the Lulong army gradually withdrew from outside the pass, there was no longer any official management of this land, so the village elder was in charge of the village. Li Chengzhong invited the three elderly men who spoke with the most weight among the three surnames to come before him. The three elderly men did not look very old at first glance, but they seemed to be quite energetic and in good spirits, despite having been hungry for two months in the mountains.

  Li Chengzhong explained the purpose of this trip to the three elderly men, saying and gesturing, "Don't worry, follow us back to Yuanguan, once we enter the city, it's our Han people's territory. The Khitan people can be cruel, but they won't be able to snatch us from within the city walls, and everyone will be able to live in peace again!"

  These words, full of emotion and reason, did not have the expected effect. Originally, in Li Chengzhong's imagination, after he finished saying these things, the old men would be so moved that they would be choked with sobs, then grab his hand, Li Chengzhong's hand, and loudly say all sorts of grateful words. Then, after the elderly announced the news of returning to Yuanguan, all the people in the village would erupt in cheers, everyone would definitely be overjoyed at being able to leave Bailu Mountain alive... Unfortunately, none of these imagined scenes happened. The three elderly men just stared at each other after listening, you look at me, I look at you...

  Li Chengzhong thought they didn't understand, so he explained it again in simpler terms. However, he saw the three elderly men frowning and looking uncomfortable. He was puzzled. At this moment, the porridge was ready, and Liu Jinhou brought over a few bowls and handed them to the three elderly men. Seeing that they were silently blowing air along the edge of the wooden bowl while drinking the porridge, Li Chengzhong pulled Liu Jinhou aside and asked, "What's going on? Why aren't the three elderly gentlemen speaking?"

  Liu Jinhou hesitated for a moment, then said, "Don't worry, I'll go ask." Li Chengzhong nodded and left the three elderly men with some annoyance. He had risked his life to lead his troops to rescue the civilians, but in return, he received indifference. Suddenly, he felt a sense of frustration and kicked a broken stone with one foot, sending it flying far away.

  The three old men finished drinking their porridge, chatted for a while, and then followed Liu Jinhou to Li Chengzhong's presence. One of the dark-skinned old men stepped forward, bowed, and hesitated before saying: "General, I heard that you seem to be angry from what Jinhou said. In fact, it's not that we old folks don't know what's good for us. You led your troops to rescue us, and we're all grateful in our hearts. It's just that we still want to stay here, after all, this is the land where we've lived for decades, and we really can't bear to leave..."

  This time it was Li Chengzhong's turn to stare, his mouth agape in incomprehension. After a long while, he spoke: "You don't want to leave? ... But... what if the Khitan people come? Where can you escape to? The Khitan people have knives, and when they arrive, they'll take you away. If they're happy, they'll make you work like oxen; if not, your lives will be forfeit! Old man, think carefully!"